The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone (162 page)

She turned abruptly and walked with her back ramrod straight through my office door, quietly shutting it behind her and I hissed out a curse. “You total twat, Hunt!”

I dropped into my chair and practically punched the keyboard with each of my fingers, my anger controlling each painful stab at the keys.

The coffee machine spluttered some brown shit across the cabinet and I stared at it as though the bloody stuff was gonna come and savage me.

“Red!” I shrieked loudly, this was her problem not mine.

She came barging through the door as if she thought my arse was on fire and I held back a smile as her eyes scanned the room like an MI5 agent.

“Coffee machine, Red!” I said bluntly as I trained my eyes on the monitor and attempted nonchalance.

Her beautiful face morphed into a tight grimace as she spotted the sticky goo now seeping out of the machine like a monster from the 80’s film ‘The Blob.’

This should be fun.

She took hesitant steps towards it and I was sure she thought the stuff was gonna jump on her and eat her whole.

Her face crumpled further as it spat a thick black tar at her and she jolted backwards when it made a groaning chug, coughed and died its final death.

“Oh.” She said quite simply as her wide eyes turned to mine.

I shrugged and turned back to my screen, desperately trying to hold on to the bark of laughter that was threatening to erupt.

Her face was classic. A mixture of ‘What the hell?’ and ‘Holy Shit’ and I bit my bottom lip as she tiptoed quietly across the room in an attempt not to anger the machine further.

“Oh” she repeated as she stood a foot away from the cabinet and leaned forward to peer at it as her face turned away in case it expelled something else at her.

“‘Oh’ isn’t gonna fix it, Red” I said to her as she shuffled a little closer.

She turned and frowned at me “Do you want me to go out and buy another or get the maintenance guy’s onto it?”

I did bark out a laugh then and gave her a sardonic look “Have you met our maintenance guy’s, Red?”

She shook her head faintly and then jumped back as the percolator decided to make one last attempt at existence and shot out a solid object through the spout.

Red scrunched up her face and took a step closer to identify the item and I grimaced when I realised what it was.

She picked it up and studied it with a confused expression before her head slowly turned towards me and her brows lifted excessively high.

I coughed, straightened my back and returned her expression as I silently told her I was her boss and not to speak a single word.

Her lips pursed now and she narrowed her eyes until I could only see a sliver of the blueness through her eyelids.

“Mr Hunt?” she questioned and I gave her a blasé look.

“Miss Summers, do you have a problem?”

She ran her tongue over her top teeth as she flicked the item between her fingers. “Well Mr Hunt, I don’t necessarily have a problem, but the machine seems to have an adverse dislike to having a paperclip shoved up its important parts.”

I steepled my fingers and rested my elbows on the desk as I regarded her. “We don’t all have a dislike at having something shoved up our important parts, do we Miss Summers?”

She huffed heavily and bit severely into her bottom lip in an effort to hold back the feisty retort I knew was on the tip of her tongue, then she smiled with a wicked twinkle in her eyes and my stomach clenched in unease. “I’ll go and buy another then, Mr Hunt. By the way, a Miss Denver’s just rung. She didn’t want to talk to you personally but insisted on leaving a message” she taunted.

I clamped my teeth together and closed my eyes as she continued, reading the message from where she had written it down on a notebook. “She said and I repeat ‘You are a fucking underdeveloped bastard and I have already found someone with a much bigger dick than yours, so go wank in a corner and smile at yourself in a mirror, you sad fucking twat.’”

Her face held an elated expression as she smiled sweetly then tipped her head and exited the room and I could tell from the movement of her shoulders from behind that she was laughing.

Revenge is sweet Lucas, and you will enjoy every second you deliver it!

* * *

Red arrived back an hour later with a new coffeemaker and a hot chocolate from Starbucks and I glared at her when I realised she hadn’t bothered to purchase me a drink. She had just smirked and taken an exaggerated slurp of her bloody drink, before savagely biting a chunk out of a chocolate muffin as she closed her eyes in ecstasy and devoured the whole bloody cake.

I had just closed my eyes and pictured her bent over my knee as I spanked the living daylights out of her!

We had a meeting to attend with Nate and as we entered the elevator to ascend to the next floor a wicked idea began to arise in my head and I smirked to myself as we both exited the lift onto the 50th floor.

“Red, before we go in I think there’s something you should be aware of” I said to her and she turned to look at me with those beautiful huge blue eyes and I nearly backed out . . . but only nearly.

“What?” she asked innocently and I swallowed back the wicked grin I was dying to deliver.

“Well, Mr Carter likes all the P.A’s to sit on his desk, legs crossed at the knee as they take notes” I told her seriously.

She gave me a startled look, then sighed and nodded in resignation. “Right . . . okay . . .”

I smirked to myself as Leah smiled at us whilst she spoke on the phone to someone and gestured with her chin for us to just go down to Nate’s office.

“Mrs Fox” I acknowledged Ava, Nate’s P.A and Mason’s wife, as we approached her desk. She smiled widely at us before she rose from her seat and embraced Red in a tight hug.

“Little Willow” She greeted Red as she pulled back slightly and cast an eye over her with a concerned gaze, “You’ve lost weight, Lay.”

“Christ, you sound like your husband, love” Red scolded light-heartedly.

Ava laughed and grabbed Red’s arm as she pulled her towards Nate’s office and they both gossiped like bloody fish wives.

I entered the room behind them and my stomach bubbled in excitement as I awaited Red’s delivery of my lie.

She was still bloody nagging with Ava as they both seated themselves in chairs beside each other and acted as though they were the only people in the room.

I plonked myself disappointedly into the remaining chair as I looked at Nate and he rolled his eyes at the blathering women.

“Never . . .” Ava gasped.

Red nodded dramatically. “Yup, she says he has a huge penis but looking at him you wouldn’t think so. I mean he’s okay looking but, well the way she gushes about him you’d think he had a bloody 24 carat, gold plated 12 inch dick with an extra appendage for clitoral stimulation.”

Nate spluttered out his coffee and my eyes widened but they seemed oblivious to us.

“Well I heard he’s really good at oral . . . knows exactly what to do with his tongue and his little finger” Ava continued and they both sighed dreamily.

“Yeah, but . . . I mean, look at him. He looks like the sort of guy that would ask politely for a blow job and then feel the need to sterilise himself before, and buy you flowers to thank you for the experience after, instead of bloody grabbing your hair and ramming it straight down your throat as they growled your name” Red said and they both looked into the distance with unfocussed gazes and sighed heavily.

Nate shot me a look and I nodded respectfully as we both considered which category we fell into.

“Well don’t say anything but he came into the club last weekend and the word that circulated when he left was that he had brought three girls off at exactly the same time whilst he sucked off another bloke” Red revealed with excitement.

I nodded humbly in awe of a man I’d never met and Nate pursed his lips in reverence.

“Holy shit” Ava declared as she settled her hand at her throat, “I think Mason and me might book in for a voyeur session, should be an interesting night.”

Red clicked her tongue and gave Ava a lift of her eyebrow “You’ll have to put your name down on the list, love; he has a backlist of around twenty eight waiting for an experience with The God.”

“The God?” Nate asked, inviting himself into the conversation.

Red turned to him and nodded firmly, “Oh yeah, and from what I’ve heard he has thoroughly earned that label.”

“Respect” Nate said and pursed his lips as he went into a dazed expression.

“Who the hell are you talking about?” I asked Red, now including myself in the chinwag.

Red and Ava both stared at me in astonishment as though I was utterly stupid and I glared back when they made me feel like a fucking dumb bastard who wasn’t up to date with the latest important scandal.

“Oh my God Lucas,” Red declared, now degrading my boss status to gossip buddy. “You know, Liam ‘The God’ Martin.”

My eyes widened when I pictured the skinny little knobhead Red was talking about. “Fuck off!” I declared in disbelief.

Red just nodded significantly, “Oh yes. Got a reputation any man would be proud to hold.”

We were all silent for a while as we each imagined Liam ‘The God’ Martin in action and I silently prompted myself to book in for a voyeur session of my own.

I shook the images from my head as I lifted my eyebrows at Red and tipped my head towards Nate’s desk.

She looked confused for a moment before realisation shifted her features and she nodded.

I bit back the laughter that was threatening to surface as she lifted out of her seat and teetered on her cream heels towards his desk. She plonked her delicious backside on the edge of Nate’s desk and poised her iPad ready for action.

Nate lifted his eyebrows at her and then Red fulfilled my wildest dreams and dramatically crossed her legs over her knee.

It was short lived however when she leaned towards Nate and said “Now we all know what a dirty bastard you are, Nate, but even your lowly employees know how you like to look up women’s skirts.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes as Nate’s found mine and an arrogant smirk lifted his lips “What have you been telling your P.A, Mr Hunt?”

Red turned and winked at me before she jumped off Nate’s desk and retook her chair and I narrowed my eyes on her, “You could have told me you knew him.”

Ava laughed loudly “Lucas, Layla knows everybody!”

I huffed loudly as I realised I was the last person to know this but then I waggled my eyebrows “But she didn’t know I was her boss when she started yesterday.”

They all looked at me with high brows and Red scoffed “That really doesn’t say a lot for you, Mr Hunt.”

Ava laughed and got out of her seat and pointed to Red. “Mason say’s Thursday night is Xbox night and prepare to die bitch!”

Nate groaned loudly, “Awww fuck, Ava. I’ve no hope if little Willow’s playing.”

Red and Ava both looked at Nate with a smirk. “You don’t have any hope anyway. Even Liv slaughters you” they both said together and laughed.

I felt a kind of stab in my chest at their playfulness and Ava tipped her head at me “You’re welcome to join us, Lucas. Thursday night, 8:30 bring a controller and a bottle.”

I gave her my best grin “Yeah okay, that’d be good thanks.”

I’d give anything a go as long as it took me close to Red for a night.

What the Hell Lucas, you’re fucking pussy whipped!

“We play for money Mr Hunt, bring cash and prepare to die” Red smirked and I shook my head.

“If we’re talking Call of Duty then you have no hope, little Willow” I said and her whole face lifted beautifully with her naughty grin.

Christ, she was utterly stunning, from her large bright blue eyes to her striking red curls, to the soft slope of her pert little nose and the supple plumpness of her perfect pink lips.

A tight bubble popped in my chest and I frowned to myself at the sensation.

These new feelings that I was experiencing with Red were really confusing, and I quickly changed the subject to move past the light hearted conversation, just so I would have a reason to divert my concentration away from her for a while and give my emotions chance to find their equilibrium.

“So, the Mohan convention?” I asked Nate.

He nodded and glanced at Red. “You okay away from the Panther to attend?”

Red expressed confusion and my heartbeat sped up in excitement when I realised she would have to attend the conference in France with me.

Four whole days of Red.

Fuck yes!

“You’ll be paid in accordance, Lay” Nate told her.

She shrugged, “When is it?”

“We leave Friday morning and come back Monday afternoon.”

She nodded. “Should be okay, I’ll have to arrange for an extra to cover with William.”

Nate nodded and then business started, but I couldn’t concentrate all the way through our meeting as I eagerly planned my seduction of Red for the upcoming business trip.

I would have her; I would take her under me and I would dominate every fucking inch of her flawless skin. She just needed to relinquish the fight and submit.

Chapter 9

Layla

LUCAS AND I both left work at the same time and as we were walking across the car park to our cars he turned to look at me. “By the way Red, thank you for sorting out the coffee machine. I was a bit of an arse about the whole thing and well . . . just thanks.”

His smile was soft and his eyes twinkled tenderly.

I couldn’t help it, my jaw dropped at his humble apology. “Oh, well thanks. I suppose I should apologise about the Starbucks run. It was quite inconsiderate of me.”

“Not at all, Red. It was actually quite amusing when you had a chocolate chip stuck to your lip all morning and didn’t realise it was there.”

I opened my mouth and my eyes widened but I smiled when he started laughing and pulled me in for a side hug. “Don’t worry, it was really quite sweet. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to lick the damn thing off you all morning though.”

His eyes darkened as he held my gaze, before they dropped to my mouth and I swept my tongue across my lower lip in an attempt to moisten the dryness that had suddenly developed, and check for more stray chips.